Firms specialising in clinical negligence, such as Alexander Harris, take on major cases on a regular basis. Clinical, or medical negligence, is an area of the law which can cover a number of personal injuries or illnesses caused or exacerbated by failures in medical care. These failures can occur at the stage of diagnosis, treatment or after-care and can be the fault of individual doctors and nurses or of hospital authorities as an organisation. The sheer range of cases covered by the term medical negligence means that firms dealing with this area need to have a wide range of legal expertise to be able to offer suitable legal support and advice.
One of the less common types of medical negligence case – but which nonetheless resulted in a big legal action in the UK – is that of personal injury arising from failed plastic surgery treatment. The case is question was prosecuted by a legal firm on behalf of a woman who had been left permanently disfigured as the result of a failed experimental plastic surgery procedure. The surgery had resulted in significant permanent damage – including nerve damage on the right side of the face, leading to uncontrollable facial spasms, in addition to permanent breast disfigurement and scarring. The surgery had also left the woman with permanent pain in one of her breasts and had contributed to feelings of depression and anxiety, which in turn damaged her ability to pursue her career and her relationship with her husband.
When the case was heard the woman in question was eventually awarded £6.2 million in damages – with £80,000 of this being general damages and the remainder being awarded based on a calculation of the past and future earnings of the business she co-owned with her husband, had her active involvement in the company not been restricted by her physical and psychological injuries. This followed an acknowledgement that these injuries had been caused by medical negligence in the plastic surgery procedure she had undergone.
If you think you have suffered due to medical negligence contact a clinical negligence solicitor now to find out if you might be entitled to claim compensation too.”